Northeast 11-year-olds hosting L.L. state tourney

By the Midland Daily News

Published 5:10 am, Wednesday, July 27, 2011

After losing in the state quarterfinals last season, the Midland Northeast 11-year-old Little League baseball team hopes to take the next step and bring home the state championship on its home turf this year.

"This is something we've been looking forward to since last year," said NE coach Max Griggs. "Everyone is excited about it."

The 11-year-old state tournament will be held at the Northeast fields Friday-Tuesday.

"We're all looking forward to playing at home," said Griggs. "The kids like playing on their own diamonds and feel comfortable there. We'll be ready. It's going to be a fun week."

Pool play begins Friday and runs through Sunday. The single-elimination portion of the tourney begins on Monday, with the semifinals at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., while the championship game will be held Tuesday at 4 p.m.

NE begins play in the Blue pool with a 3:30 p.m. game on Friday against West Portage on Griggs Field. NE then plays Saturday at 11 a.m. against Norway on Wilson field. Midland wraps up pool play on Sunday against Grosse Pointe at 3:30 p.m. on Griggs field.

The Red pool consists of Tecumseh, Saginaw North, Taylor NW and either Gaylord or Cheboygan, who played an if-necessary game on Tuesday evening.

The strength of the NE team begins at the top of the order with lead-off Cade Methner and second hitter Martin Money. Needing to win two straight games over Fraternal-Northwest to claim the district title, Money and Methner combined for three home runs in the first game and scored the game's only two runs in the second game as NE took home the district title 2-0.

"Cade and Martin are the leaders of the team," said Griggs. "The other kids look to them to make things happen."

Besides playing shortstop, Methner and Money will take turns pitching, along with Garrett Willis.

"We have five or six pitchers we can count on, but Cade, Martin and Garrett are the three that are going to have to carry the load," said Griggs. "But when we need some extra innings, we've got (leftfielder) Mitchell Dominowski, (rightfielder) Isaac Strait and (second baseman) Jacob Dykhuizen that can pitch."

With the possibility of playing five games in five days, along with Little League pitch count rules, Griggs is happy he has quality and quantity in his pitching staff.

"We've got to be careful how we use our pitching," said Griggs. "You don't want to get yourself in a bind, so we're going to have to keep close tabs on (our pitch counts). Of course, you've got to have good pitching to keep you in game."

Along with a strong pitching staff, NE is solid in the field.

"This team works very hard on their defense and defensive situations," said Griggs. "Putting the ball in play when we need to will be a key. If we can put some runs on the board, we've got a great shot at winning."

Also, scheduled for Thursday, the Northeast host committee will hold pre-tournament skill activities for the players. Various players from the competing teams will participate in a home run derby, fastest runner, and around-the-horn competitions beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the NE diamonds.